REI Expedition -20 Sleeping Bag

Comments about REI Expedition -20 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I purchased this bad along with the really nice "Exped Downmat 9 Sleeping Pad with Pump" for winter backpacking. Much to my amazement they arrived the very next day. I couldn't wait for the trip and tested out the pair on my deck last night as the temp was dipping down to 0 F. I figured this would be a fair test. These are my results.I am a tall skinny guy who tends to be a cold sleeper so I figured the -20 F bag would do me just right. I laid down the sleeping pad directly on the snow and made sure it was full enough that I never bottomed out or had direct contact with the snow. I was wearing thick wool socks and full length pajamas. I crawled into the very comfortable bag and ran into my first issue; I couldn't get the outer zipper started. I had to fumble with it for about 30 seconds before it got on track. The next thing I noticed was that the zipper was not smooth. I hoped I could just kick my feet out to create tension so I could just run the zipper all the way up but I had to use both hands as the zipper got stuck about four times until I was able to get it all the way up. I'm not sure what the zipper got stuck on because I don't think the fabric got caught but it did stick. The inner zipper was smooth as silk. Getting comfortable took a bit of work adjusting my pillow inside the bag but I finally found the spot and got to sleep when the temp was around 15 F. I love the inside pocket for a flashlight or phone that can be accessed from inside and outside. There was plenty of room for me to change my socks if I wanted and move around. The pull cords to cinch up the inner baffle and outer were excellent intuitive. The inner baffle has a very nice Velcro flap to create a complete loop with just enough strength that if you forget to undo it, it won't rip the fabric and strong enough that it won't open accidentally. At first I only had the internal baffle closed as I like looking at the stars. As the temperature dropped I finally closed up the outside hole to about the size of a baseball. There was a lot of moisture condensing on the outside of the hole and frost further away from the hole. I awoke late around 5:30 with my whole body near shivering. My Digital thermometer read -.5 degrees F. I was sleeping on my back and I was centered on my sleeping pad. I cannot explain why I was cold. I felt the cold from the bottom.I think this bag should have kept me warm at 20 degrees above its limit. One of the reasons I bought from REI was that they were using the fair European warmth standards and on their web site it even has a video link to this measurement standard but if you notice on the website this bag isn't rated. I called REI and they explained to me the ratings only go to bags rated above zero. What??? I'm not too sure what I am going to do with this bag. It really is a steal at [...] off coupon. It is a heavier bag and a pretty large in the stuff sack. I'm disappointed but for the money it can't be beat.

Comments about REI Expedition -20 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

This is a poor excuse of a sleeping bag...

First of all, this is not a -20F bag. I' ve tried it in northern Norway at -13F, wearing a heavy wool baselayer, and woke up several time during the night shivering with cold. This might be partly caused by the second problem:

The bag is too small. I purchased the "regular" version that is supposed to fit persons up to 183 cm in height. I'm somewhere between 180 and 182 and this bag is 5-10 cm too short for me. My feet touches and compresses the bottom of the bag, making an excellent cold bridge.. It seems that REI believe that we sleep with our feet in a 90 degree angle to our legs, well, most of us do not.

Also the internal space of the bag is too small for expedition use. I used this bag when summiting Aconcagua, and could barely fit my inner boots and a couple of bottles in the bag when sleeping. Luckily the weather was good most of the trip, so using this poor excuse of a sleepig bag gave no consequences during the trip.

And finally, the bag leaks down.. A lot..

So, thumbs down. Spend a little more money and buy a quality bag, you will not regret it.

Eric

Comments about REI Expedition -20 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I am 5"10 170 (average mountaineer size)and this bag is plenty spacious for me, it is also snug and comfortable. It appears to pack down and weigh the same as other more expensive bags in its category. Its a -20 bag so it is not going to pack down too small, I am surprised that some say its not big enough because I got room to spare. I have not had it down to -20 and I wouldn't take any sleeping bag of any brand to its rating limit. Good deal and a good sleeping bag.

Comments about REI Expedition -20 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I spend a lot of time in a tent in all conditions. I'm from North Dakota and live in Jackson WY so I was worried that -20 wouldn't suffice. This is the first time I've ever slept in a bag that was comfortable below its rating. One night it reached -24 outside (that was the official temp, not my own measurement) and I was quite warm. I was on a 1 inch thermarest and wearing silk weight long johns and wool socks. It was hard to keep my face warm, but that's the way it is at temperatures like that. The reviewer that mentioned that he got cold through the ground almost certainly had an inadequate pad or one that was underinflated. Sleeping bags aren't supposed to insulate you from the ground but the air. This one does. If I wore warmer clothes I would feel comfortable pushing this bag into the -30s. I especially liked the dual zipper feature. During warmer winter nights I am able to unzip the inner zipper, and thus have more room inside and allow more heat to pass out of the zip. It's a great feature for temperature control. When it's really cold I zip it up, have insulation over the zipper and decrease the internal volume that I have to keep warm. This is a terrific bag, light weight for its warmth and I highly recommend it for seriously cold temperatures.

Comments about REI Expedition -20 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I used this bag on my summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. It was warm and easy to get in and out of. While it is a little heavy when you want warmth this is the bag. I gave mine to one of the porters at the end of my trip. I will be buying another for my next trip (EBC).

Comments about REI Expedition -20 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I bought this bag for an Aconcagua expedition up the normal route. The bag worked well from Confluencia (40F at night, 12,000ft) all the way to White Rocks (-30F at night, 20,000ft). The bag held up to the abuse of packing and unpacking during the 2 weeks trip. Regarding packing size, it's not the lightest bag but was manageable. I used a stuff sack and was able to compress the bag down to the size of a football.

I typically sleep warm, so was a little concerned at the lower altitudes but the dual zips allow many different configurations. At altitude I was wearing my thermal pants and top and a wool hat and socks. Overall, the bag performed perfectly and I slept comfortably (as well as you can at altitude) the two weeks I was on the mountain.

Comments about REI Expedition -20 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I was hot in this bag. At the Lake of Clouds on Mount Washington. In Winter. Do I have to say more? Great bag for a good price (in its class).

Comments about REI Expedition -20 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I'm of the conservative bag user variety... Take off 10 degrees from the rating and plan to be comfortable to that level. I would say that such a practice would be accurate for this bag. -20 is in reach, but you'll have to pull out the tricks like warm water bottles, proper base clothing and pad, and maybe even some foot/hand warmer pads thrown into the bag.

I bought this bag as I like to be warm when I sleep and enjoy the reverse 3 season hiking (Fall-Winter-Spring versus spring-summer-fall...). I'm a slim guy with ~8-10% body fat and while I grew up in Buffalo, I've lived in FL and the south for ~8 yrs--let's just say the blood's a little thin these days.

I really like the bag's versatile zipper design, although the outside zipper is a little sticky. I also really like its look and the mix of down, etc...

I haven't had the chance to use this too much as weather patterns have had me in my Marmot 15 for many trips now, but up near Kearsarge Pass, I was quite comfortable in single digits sleeping on snow with a ProLite 4 pad (1.5 inches)... Others that I was with in the lower rated 3 season bags (10-20 degrees) were fairly cold.

If you factor in all the practices of true expedition level adventures (booties and gear in the bag, crazy temps), the name may be a little of an overstatement, but I'm perfectly happy with my purchase given my intended use...

Comments about REI Expedition -20 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

I don't know where you get these temp. ratings from but upon just returning from a five day camping trip at 9100ft.on the front range of the springs.I went up 11/5/11 just as a cold front was passing thru the area; I finally had to answer mother natures call around 10 or so and checked the temp.from the thermometer on my pack it was 16 below I froze my butt off. I experienced cold spots as well; I did not have a good nite.the next four nite's it never went below 0:Thank GOD the winter here in the springs it has not even started to get cold.I do a good amount of winter camping and i don't like the idea of a bag not allowing me to go to the temp. extremes that I feel comfortable camping in.Also why did I have those cold spot's? that's not suppose to happen.

Comments about REI Expedition -20 Sleeping Bag - Regular:

the bag is well made, but its not a -20 bag. bought for winter and hi altitude use. the two zippers are great in that it helps to regulate temp if you are warm. for the price the bag is actually quite good, but would not recommend for anything below 0.